May 2nd, 2008, Montauban

Montauban is a mid-sized city with a population a little over 50,000 and is the capital of the département of Tarn-et-Garonne in southwest France. In 1144 Montauban was situated on the river Tarn by the Count of Toulouse, 30 miles to the south, who had decided to create a bastide as a defense against both English and French royal power. Generally regarded as the first such bastide, Montauban became a model for the layout of other medieval new towns.
The city was significantly damaged during the Hundred Years War and again, during the 16th an 17th centuries when, as a principal bastion of Protestantism in southwest France, it found itself on the losing side in the Wars of Religion. Its fortunes have waxed and waned over the centuries and currently Montauban operates as an agricultural market with diversified industrial activities including electrical, aeronautical, lighting equipment, furniture, and food processing especially of dairy goods. Click here for some sights around town.